Monday, June 30, 2008

I have been sitting here most of the day trying to come up with something to write... ANYTHING really and I've got NOTHING. A big fat Zero.

It's Monday. And Monday in the worst kind of way. I was up at 5:00 to pick up the house for the cleaning lady. I didn't get Jake up to help me because his idea of picking up is to put the dirty pans in the oven. Grrr... so I just did it. And then I regretted it because secretly I was a little angry that I did it all myself. So when I asked him to do the litter boxes and he gave me flack I sort of snapped on him, a little...

Oh, and our basement flooded AGAIN this weekend. So there are wet kitty litter footprints all over our house that I didn't have time to wipe up....

And our cat is still missing. She has been gone for a little over a week now and we miss her. When we go out side Zack still yells EeekAhhh (Squeeker). It breaks my heart every time. I know he is probably doing it because I have been yelling it for a week not because he knows that she's missing but still...

Oh, on Friday we did have a somewhat humorous incident regarding missing cat. I got a phone call about 1:30 from someone who had gotten my flyer (I sent out 61....) he said he thought he had found my cat and then he proceeded to tell me he thought she was dead on the road. So I say thank you and then I try to continue working. I made it to 2:15.

Then I went home, changed clothes, got an old towel and went to the place on the road where he said I could find my cat. I pulled up and was immediately like that's not her. But then I went and gathered said smooshed cat and upon further investigation I couldn't tell. I looked at the pictures on the flyer and at this cat and I was stumped. All that kept running through my head was I don't want to bury someone else's cat.

So... I call Jake and he is short with me because he's at work and then I begin to cry and leave said cat on the side of the road. I drive home a blubbering mess. He calls me back about 5 minutes later and I tell him I just can't tell. So he says he will leave work at 5:00 and come look for himself. So home I go.

I get out the digital camera and I look through all the pictures I have and find all the ones with her and then I study her markings. After about 45 minutes I'm convinced it's my cat. I cry some more and get back in the car to "bring her home." Only, when I get there, I'm not so sure again. I examine the smooshed cat once again and just can't tell so back home I go.

Finally Jake gets off work and I drive over there for the third time. Now said cat is missing. We don't see it. So we both park and we walk up and down the side of the road. We find it, he says yes, it is definitely her. I go to get the towel and by the time I get back he's not so sure. So in the back of his truck she goes and he is off to the rescue league to have them check said smoosed cat for a microchip.

25 minutes later he calls me. This cat is only 1 - 2 years old and has no microchip. So now I have spent all afternoon being distraught about someone else'ssmooshed cat. I'm relieved but also still very sad. At least if it was her we would have had closure. Now, we keep looking....

Other than that, we are in the process of trying to renovate our dog pen so we can put our escape artists back in it. They learned to jump the fence so we have to buy a jump guard. More money... fantastic. So while we are at it we are also tilling up the pen and planting grass. It has been mostly weeds since we built it.

Oh and speaking of purchases, we now are looking into new shades for Zack's room too. Now that it's light he has began a sleeping boycott. If it is light he will not sleep. This is all fine and dandy during the week when he is up at 6:15 but not nearly so great on the weekends and not nearly so great at night either. He has cut his sleeping by a good one to two hours and his attitude is showing it.

I went to Men@rds to buy some darker shades yesterday and came home defeated when I realized that anything above a one cell shade would have to be special ordered and those things are EXPENSIVE!! Do you think I could get away with hanging blankets on his windows or is that too getto?? Yeah... I thought so too... Uggg!!

Friday, June 27, 2008

Before I write anything for the day I usually go onto my bloglines and read all of the updates. I do this 1) to see what everyone is up to and 2) to possibly get some ideas of what to write about.

Today, I'm going to take a moment to re-iterate something I saw on Kristi's blog this morning. Yesterday she was in a car accident. A minor accident but it reminded her that her daughter had outgrown her car seat and that she had not yet made time to purchase a new one. Luckily, her daughter was not hurt and they immediately purchased her a new car seat. A seat with a 5 point harness up to 65 lbs.

And that, dear friends, is the message of my public service announcement today. There have been some new studies out that have shown that it is NOT as safe to move smaller children up to booster seats as was once thought. Adult seat belts can hurt children under five and even children over five who are small for their age.

I know a lot of parents who move smaller children up thinking the age restriction is all they need to follow or they move the younger child up sooner because they throw a fit and want to be like their older sibling. Please don't do this. The booster seat we got for Zack allows him to be in a five point harness until he is 65 lbs. I plan to leave him in that seat until he is 65 lbs. (Which at this rate might be next year!! LOL)

I also plan to reposition his seat this weekend to tether him into the car. I have not done this and noticed when I got into a friend's car this weekend she had her seats tethered in. That is one more safety measure that I need to take to protect my son. After watching the video's below I realized that one inconvenience for me is NOT worth risking his life.

If you have the time, watch the videos below (possibly with some Kleenex). Seriously what's a little crying and fit throwing about being in a "baby" seat when you are trying to save your child's life?

This has been the end of your public service announcement. We will return you to your regularly scheduled programing next week.

I'll put the recipe here, but I HIGHLY suggest you pop on over there because she has pictures to go with the recipe and everything is easier with pictures.

2 pork tenderloins (they usually come two to a package)We just used precut pork loins. They were on sale and it made it so we didn't have to do the pounding of the meat because they were already only about 1/2 inch thick2 large eggs5 ounces Parmesan cheese (We bought the pre-shredded stuff because I couldn't' find a block of Parmesan at the store)1/2 cup flour1 teaspoon Salt1/2 teaspoon Pepper2 teaspoons Garlic powderOlive oil (We used vegetable oil)Combine the flour, salt, pepper and cheese in one bowl and mix well

Whisk eggs in another bowl

Get out a non-stick frying pan and put the oil in the bottom and then heat it to medium high.

Then bread the pork putting it in the egg and making sure it is coated and then in the cheese mixture and then into a non-stick frying pan.

Heat about 5 -7 minutes on each side until golden brown and the serve. It is VERY nummy... and good... AND.... it DIDN'T come from a box!! Aren't you proud??

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Two weeks ago we de-binkied my son. Things have been going really well. He asks for it once and awhile and we just tell him it is all gone.

However, last night we had our usual babysitter, who hadn't been there in two weeks, and we forgot to tell her about the whole binkie thing. So he asked, and she found the spare one under the changing table and gave it to him.

SO... my question to any of you who have ever been through this, how long will the screaming last this evening?

He asked for it over and over again this morning (we took it away as soon as we got home) and we just told him all gone. He seemed ok with that but I'm not sure he's going to be so ok with it when it comes to bed time tonight.

Should I hunker down for another two hour screaming fest? I'm not sure my ears can handle it. Please tell me one of you had this happen and it was no big deal..... please..... :-)

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

This weekend a man that Jake's sister graduated with, a man that Jake used to run around with was murdered. When I saw his picture on the news my heart just sank. That all too easily could have been Jake.

This man had a three year old and no matter what he had done to anyone he did NOT deserve to but gunned down in the street. And gunned down not just by anyone but by someone we know.

That's right. Remember back in October of 2006 when Jon and Jane broke into our safe and stole our checks and then decided to go on a random spending spree??

So on Sunday morning I got on the Internet to see who was charged with the murder of this man and I felt like I had been hit over the head when I saw Jane's name come up. That's right, the woman who was IN MY HOUSE, is now charged with murder.

All I could think was oh my G*d that could have been us....

No matter where you are in your life and no matter what you think of the situation that fact of the matter is that a young man lost his life this weekend. A family lost a son and a brother and a little boy lost his daddy. It could have been us, and I'm counting my blessings that Jake was able to get his act together when he was but at the same time my heart is hurting for the family who wasn't so lucky.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Yes, Jake got a promotion. A pretty big one actually. He is now the co-manager of the mobile home park which comes with a whole new set of duties and hopefully (cross your fingers) a whole new set of pay too!! :-) YEAH for JAKE!!

"No, No, NO!! DON'T dig in the litter box. That's icky!!"

The basement flooded last week so the litter boxes had to be moved upstairs. I forget how much I HATE having them in our living space until they are back again.

"Can we just fill in the basement with dirt? Really... never venture down there again? I think it would be easier."

After the water receded I had to scrub the floor in the basement. Here is your exercise for the day. Take a bucket and fill it with water. Now dump in some kitty litter and mix until it is a nice pasty consistency. Now spread it on your floor in a nice thick goopy wet paste. Next take a mop and a bucket and try to clean said mess. THAT is what I did yesterday. Happy to get the litter boxes back to the basement. Not so happy to clean it first....

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

I'm sorry... you will have to speak louder. I can't quite hear you. I think I am temporarily deaf from all of the screaming.

Here is my advice to all of you. If your child ever has the displeasure to contract hand, foot and mouth disease promptly pack them up and ship them off to Grandma's for a couple of days. No really... TRUST ME!!

Here is my last night in a nutshell.

5:27 pm: Arrive at daycare and notice that he is crying in his room

5:28 pm: Notice that the little dear only took a 20 minute nap, briefly consider if it would be possible to pawn him off on someone this evening. Decide against it and suck it up for the long night ahead.

5:32 pm: Get him into the car seat and decide that I'm going to try to get him to take a small nap on the way to get him some ice cream to make his mouth feel better

5:33 pm: The screaming continues. I try to give him a binkie but it is the blue binkie NOT the green binkie and it just will not due. He hands it back to me and continues to scream.

5:35 pm: Decide there is NO way I can go to get him anything as I will not be able to hear in the drive through. Turn around and take him home.

5:37 pm: The screaming ceases for 2.5 seconds until he sees daddy and melts down again at the injustice of being inside and not outside

5:38 pm: Daddy takes him outside, the screaming stops. THANK GOD...

5:40 pm: Oh wait, it was just a fluke. The sand box is not behaving it's self and the screaming begins again in earnest. I take this as my opportunity to escape to acquire the ice cream

6:17 pm: Arrive back home, Zack is no longer screaming and is instead sitting on the couch waiting for daddy to get 101 Dalmatians started so he can watch PUPPIEEEEEEES!!

6:24 pm: Apparently french fries and PUPPIEEEEEESS (yes.. it must be said with much enthusiasm) make everything better

{This Picture Has Been Moved to Zack's Site}

6:27 pm: Oh yes, and Ice Cream... mussent forget the ice cream

{This Picture Has Been Moved to Zack's Site}

7:02 pm: The calm is short lived so daddy takes him upstairs to bed. The screaming begins.

7:05 pm: It is quiet, they are reading a book

7:07 pm: He puts him in his crib and the screaming begins in earnest. If I didn't know better I would think someone was trying to kill him.

7:15 pm: I head upstairs to try to calm him down. He stops crying when I get in the room but doesn't want to lay down. I read him a book trying to get him to calm down and sit in my lap. He squirms and wriggles so I put him back in his crib. The screaming starts again.

7:22 pm: Mommy.... mommy... (I think that is playing dirty)

7:30 pm: I go back up to check on my screaming child. I try to give him his binkie but the blisters on his tongue make it impossible for him to suck on it so he just screams and cries. I hold him, rock him, try walking with him, nothing works

7:38 pm: I decide to load him in the car and drive him around until he falls asleep before I pull all my hair out

7:39 pm: I step outside and the screaming stops immediately. His head pops up off my shoulder and he points to the field. "Moo...." (Well I'm glad to see he hasn't lost sense of the important things in life)

7:39 1/2 pm: I get him in the car seat and the screaming begins again

7:42 pm: The screaming has stopped. I can still hear the whimpers from the back seat but his eyes are closed.

7:44 pm: I put him in bed and fall defeated onto the couch

8:22 pm: He begins to cough... oh sh*t, oh sh*t please don't let him wake up, no such luck. It begins with a mild whimper

8:24 pm: The screaming is back again along with the flailing. I take him downstairs and try to give him baby ambesol on his tongue. It doesn't work.

8:26 pm: I try starting the puppies movie, he's still screaming, he wants no part of it

8:34 pm: I put him back in bed, not knowing what else to do with him

8:43 pm: Can't stand to hear him cry, not knowing if he's just overly tired or in pain, take him downstairs

8:44 pm: Screaming

8:50 pm: More Screaming....

8:58 pm: Oh yeah... still crying.....

9:08 pm: "HEATHER....""WHAT?" "Why don't you take him in the car again?" He stops to listen and is suddenly overwhelmed with how tired he is. His eyes begin to droop and I sit as still as possible trying not to move so he won't start again.

9:12 pm: His eyes droop for the last time. I find the foot rest on the recliner, put it up and sit motionless hoping, please dear god don't let him start again....

9:28 pm: Finally find the courage to move and I take him up and put him in his bed

On the upside I think we have taken away the binkie? After all we've already survived the first two hour night of crying right?? :-)

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Do any of you use this? I just started yesterday and I tell you, it is revolutionizing my blog following. Instead of having all of my blogs in my favorites and having to visit each one separately to see if they've updated I just go to my bloglines. If anyone has new content it tells me and I click and link and boyola, I'm at that blog.

Right now, after two days of work, I have all 66 of my blogs in there. Yes, you read that right, I read 66 blogs. Whew... no wonder I only get to most people's like once a week. But now... now, no longer. Now I don't have to visit 60 blogs just to have the page load and see that the same content is there that was there 2 days ago. Now I can just click on my bloglines account and see in a mater of moments who has updated and who has not. Visit the few blogs that are updated and move on with my day.

This could become a problem. I've gained so much time now that I'm not trying to visit all of those blogs I might have time to read just a few more. Any you can recommend?? ;-)

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

What do you make at your house for dinner? Something that takes less than an hour (preferably half and hour) and will feed 3 people. We get home at about 5:30 - 5:45 and the latest I can usually hold Zack off from eating is 6:30. Especially because depending on what kind of day he has had sometimes he is in bed at 7:00.

Here's what to keep in mind... I am the PICKIEST person on the planet.

As many of you know I started working out about a month or so ago. And lately it has been going.... well... so... so....

As much as I really don't care about the weight issue it is hard not to become a little discouraged when the scale has not shown even one pound of improvement. In fact it seems that my weight has fluctuated between the same 5 pounds. Base weight, five pounds up, back to base weight. Never dipping BELOW the line.

However, that is not my most serious hurdle at this point. My problem now becomes that I'm TIRED!! REALLY TIRED!! So I need some advice from you work out goo roos. What am I doing wrong?

When I started working out my appetite changed. I'm eating less but not necessarily better. If I eat veggies and salads I feel like I'm starving and I tend to splurge so I have generally just been eating less of things that I like. (Which is not much... think eats like a three year old) Is it possible that I'm not eating enough calories? I would guess in a typical day when I bring my lunch and breakfast I probably only eat 1,500 calories.

As for sleep I generally go to bed between 9 - 10 and I get up at 5:00 so I'm getting between 7 -8 hours of sleep which I think should be sufficient. Still, every morning when my alarm goes off I have a hell of a time getting out of bed and most days I'm DRAGGING by the time I get home. I am getting discouraged because I thought working out was supposed to make me feel better but I feel worse.

So, there you have it. Any suggestions you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

As most of you know I attend Al-anon meetings twice a week. I have learned a lot at these meetings and enjoy them immensely. Recently there has been a woman who has attended my Friday night meeting who has really gotten me thinking.

For a couple of years now I have read a great blog about an adoptive/foster parent. She has adopted one child from foster care and also has anywhere from 1 - 5 other foster children at any given time. I love her blog and try to read it every day.

Recently she has been having some issues with the bio mom of two of her foster children. They have been to court a couple of times to try to get to the point of terminating parental rights because the bio mom is not doing what she is supposed to be doing. As I have read her side of the story I have found myself rooting for her, in a sense. I know how much she cares for these kids and I know nothing about the bio mom so I was almost hoping that they would terminate rights so that she could possibly adopt them.

Then I met this woman in my Al-anon meeting. Let's call her A. A has four children who are in foster care. A loves her children very much and becomes very emotional when she talks about them. She has made some mistakes but she is trying to turn her life around and regain custody of her children.

On Monday there was to be a hearing to possibly terminate A's parental rights. Suddenly things are looking a whole lot different to me. I don't know A well enough to know exactly what she has or has not done to regain custody of her children. I know her story, as she has told it to me and a part of me aches for her.

I know she has made mistakes but from where I sit it looks like she is trying. Shouldn't she at least get the chance to be in her children's lives? It breaks my heart to think that there is a possibility that they could terminate her rights and she might never be able to see her children again.

It is amazing to me how your perspective on a situation can be so different when you only hear it from one side. Perhaps in all we do we should take the time to consider that there could always be another side to every story.

About Me

My son and I live on a farm in Iowa with a menajarie of otheranimals. On a good day our life runs like a smooth three ringcircus. On a bad day one of the elephants escapes and chargesthe crowd. Please join us in our adventures, just watch whereyou step.